Complicated
by rachel-green-geller
Summary: The lives of our Friends are, well, complicated. It's an AU fic. R&R Please
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own them

Disclaimer: I don't own them. 'nuff said.

Ross and Chandler are sophomores at NYU. Monica and Rachel are freshmen at NYU. Ross and Rachel are not going out and Monica and Chandler HATE each other. Rachel and Monica live in Monica's apt. And Ross and Chandler live across the hall. Ross and Rachel are **BEST** friends. Rachel is closer to Ross then she is to Monica. Ross is dating this girl names Shelby. Rachel is dating this guy named Todd. Rachel and Todd are really serious. Ross and Shelby are serious, but not as close at Rachel and Todds relationship.

So enough of my babbling and on with the show

--

Rachel glanced at the clock in Central Perk.

6:00.

"Quitten time" she thought.

She unwrapped herself from the apron and grabbed her backpack. As she trudged up the 6 flights of stairs, a thought came to her.

"How am I gonna finish 2 reports, 1 biography, and read 2 chapters from the book from hell, Lord of the Flies?"

As she opened the door to apartment 20, the overwhelming smell of apple pie reminded her of how long it had been since she ate, about 6 hours. Her stomach was churning with pain.

"Hey Mon, I'm home."

"Hey" Monica, her best friend and roommate, said as she came out of her room.

"Are you hungry?"

"You know it" Rachel replied.

Monica walked over to the kitchen and put a biscuit, mashed potatoes, with gravy, green beans, and ribs on a plate. Then she pulled an apple pie from the over. Rachel knew her friend all too well.

"Mon, what's wrong?" Rachel patronized.

"Nothing." Even though Monica knew Rachel knew her too well to fall for that.

Rachel knew Monica only cooked this much when something was going on.

"Monica." Rachel warned.

"Ok, promise not to tell ANYONE."

"I promise..."

"Ok, well I think…" Monica trailed off.

"Yeah..." Rachel encouraged.

"Ithinkilikechandler."

There she said, a bit fast for Rachel to comprehend, but she still said it.

"Oh, wow."

"I know."

"No, I mean I think I like Chandler too." Rachel said.

"Really?" Monica frantically asked.

"No. I just wanted to see your reaction. But, wow, are you sure? I thought you hated that guy.

"I thought I did too, but the other night, he hugged me goodbye, and I felt butterflies in my stomach. Like, I just got on a rollar coaster, or something. And I think, it just kind of hit me, like a ton of bricks."

"That's great! Aww honey. You two would be so cute together." Rachel squeeled.

"Yeah, I think so too!"

"I just can't believe it."

"Believe what?" Phoebe asked as she walked in.

"Monica likes Chandler." Rachel said matter-of-factly.

"RACHEL!!" Monica yelled.

"Oh, c'mon, it Phoebe."

"Yeah, its Phoebe."

She did have a point there. Phoebe was a bit of a blabbermouth.

"Yeah, I'm Phoebe, and I'm right here." Phoebe said cutting in.

"Sorry." They apologized in unison.

Rachel looked at her backpack and sighed as she remembered all the homework she had. She picked up the bag and started rifling though it.

"Hey have either of you read Lord of the Flies?" Rachel said, still milling though her book bag.

"Nope, sorry Rach." Phoebe said.

"Sorry sweetie, but I think Ross has." Rachel heard Monica say.

"Ok, thanks."

With that Rachel jumped up and went out the door.

--

Rachel walked across the hall and into apartment 19 without knocking, like normal.

"Hey Ross, did you read Lor…" Rachel started.

She stopped dead in her tracks; this was not the sight she wanted to see. Ross and Shelby, half naked on the sofa.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…I am sooo sorry." Rachel sputtered.

She could see their cheeks getting red and she could feel hers getting hot with embarrassment. Ross and Shelby were speechless. There was a long uncomfortable pause.

"Umm, I'm just gonna go now." Rachel stammered.

She left the apartment and closed the door.

"Wow, that was not something I wanted to see." She laughed to herself.

Then she poked her head in the door once more, making sure she covered her eyes.

"Hey, next time you decide to have sex on the couch, could you have the decency to lock the door." Rachel joked.

"Ha Ha, very funny." Ross shot back sarcastically.

And with that Rachel turned on her heels and left the embaressed couple stunned on the couch.

--

"This has got to be THE worst date in history." Chandler Bing thought to himself.

"For 2 hours straight this girl has talked non-stop. Dear Lord! What does a person have to do to make this girl shut up?" Chandler wondered.

He glanced at his watch. 10:00.

"You know what, Grace, I'm afraid I lost track on time and I have to go." He lied.

"Really?"

"Yeah I'm sorry. But I had a great time." He lied again.

"Yeah, me too."

"All righty then, bye bye now."

Chandler grabbed his coat, put a 50 dollar bill on the table and practically ran out.

"Don't you want my number?" He heard her call to him.

"Free at last, Free at last." He chuckled to himself.

--

Ross was lost in her eyes. Her perfect blue eyes. They were like the ocean. Blue and bright. He felt her hair. Her long, dirty blond hair. So smooth and soft.

Rachel.

Ross quickly opened his eyes and sat up.

"Rachel?" he thought out loud.

No, he did not love Rachel. He couldn't. She was his friend…his BEST friend.

He didn't love Rachel. Did he?

--

She had found the one. Todd was the man that Rachel knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She wanted him to be the father of her children. She knew it. He was the one. She loved him. She loved him.

"I love him." Rachel though out loud.

She closed her eyes. She was so lucky. Life was so simple.

--

Monica lay in her bed, trying to sleep, but with no success. Instead she just closed her eyes and imagined.

Chandler.

Monica.

Chandler and Monica.

Monica and Chandler.

Mrs. Chandler Bing.

"I need help." Monica said as she threw her pillow over her head.

The End…for now.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey Mon, look at this one

Here is the next chapter!

Disclaimer: They are not mine…

--

"Hey Mon, look at this one." Rachel said as she held up the black Prada skirt.

"That's cute, but look at the price tag." Monica said, as she tried to be realistic.

"So?"

"Its 300!!" Monica exclaimed.

"What is your deal? It a cute skirt, so you buy it!! Don't look at the price tag."

"You're hopeless!!" Monica joked.

"Typical Rachel." Monica thought.

Monica and Rachel were shopping on 5th avenue. Otherwise know as Rachel's place of worship. Monica was trying to stay focused, but it was so hard. The only thing that she could think about was Chandler. She thought about his beautiful blue eyes, and his sandy colored hair, and how she just wanted to be with him.

"MONICA!!" Rachel shouted into Monica's ear.

"What? I'm right here. No need to shout."

"I've been calling you for like ever."

"Oh, sorry."

"I think you loooove him." Rachel teased.

"I do not!" Monica argued.

"Yes you do! You should've seen the look on your face. I could totally tell you were thinking about him."

"So?"

"So you loooove him!" Rachel teased again.

"You think?" Monica asked hopefully.

"Uh, yeah. Believe me, I'm in love, I should know!"

"What am I gonna do? I'm just so confused about everything."

"Me too! One day you hate him, the next day you love him."

"But what am I gonna do?" Monica asked again.

"I would figure out how you really feel about him. Maybe you're not in love. Maybe you're in lust."

"Maybe."

"Well, what I was going to say was that I have to be at work…" Rachel started.

But Monica was too busy lost in her own thoughts to listen. She was so confused. She didn't understand how this had happened so fast. One day she couldn't stand him, and then next day she woke up and saw him in a completely different light. It just seemed so odd, especially for Monica.

She loved him.

Right?

--

Rachel decided that during her lunch break she would give Todd a surprise visit.

"5 minutes!" She thought to herself, excitedly.

She could hardly wait. She figured she would walk. It was a warm spring day and Central Park was beautiful at this time of the year. The fact that his office was right across the street from Central Park and right next door to a cute little café was just an added bonus.

Finally! The clock hit 12:30.

"Gunther, I'll be back in an hour." Rachel called to her boss.

"Ok." He called back as he watched her leave.

--

Rachel walked though the double doors of her boyfriends law office.

"Hi Julia!" Rachel said as she passed the receptionist.

"Hello Rachel. Todd's in a meeting, so you might not want to go back there right now!" Julia says frantically.

"Ok, well, I'll just wait for him in his office, thanks though."

She continued to walk down the corridor. His office was the 3rd one down on the right. She went to reach for the door handle when she heard a giggle.

"Oh Todd!! " A shrill voice came from behind the door.

Rachel opened the door.

Her head started spinning. In a matter of seconds her whole life came crashing down.

She ran from the office. Slammed open the doors and ran across the street. She just kept running. Tears were streaming down her face.

Todd cheated on her. Todd, the love of her life.

She sat on a bench. She had to. She couldn't see straight anymore.

She just sat and cried.

--

"Ok," Ross thought to himself, "I'm sure I just had a little too much to drink that night. There is just no way I have feelings for Rachel. It's almost silly!" He laughed out loud.

Ross was on his way to the grocery store to pick up some things for his dinner that night with Shelby.

"Shelby is my girlfriend, and I am happy with her. It must've been a weird dream. People have those all the time!" He convinced himself.

Ross was walking down the stairs from his apartment when his cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey!" The familiar voice said.

"Hey Shelby! What's up?"

"Well, actually I have something I need to tell you."

"Ok." Ross said worried.

"Will you meet me at that cute little café across the street from Central Park?"

"Sidney Place Café?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Sure."

"Ok, how 'bout 10 minutes."

"Sure."

Ross wondered what could be so important that they had to meet so soon.

--

Ross sat, impatiently tapping his fingers against the hard table.

"Hey, I'm sorry I'm late. I hate New York traffic. It sucks." Shelby laughed.

"Hey, no problem, so what did you want to tell me?"

"Umm, ok, this is really hard."

Ross did not like the sound of that.

"Umm, Ok, what is it?" Ross said nervously

"I'm being relocated."

--

Reviews please :)


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews everyone!

Disclaimer: I disclaim them…

Chapter 3

--

"You're, you're what?" Ross sputtered.

"Re-locating" Shelby said again.

"To, um where? And when?"

Ross could hardly believe this. He finally found someone he could settle down with and think about his future with, and now, she was leaving.

"Well," Shelby started, "Raytel is moving me to their offices in Phoenix. And they said I need to be officially moved and ready to start work by next Monday."

"Ok, so that gives us, what? A, a week?"

"Yeah. So, I say we enjoy this week…"

"But what about when you leave?" Ross interrupted.

"Well, I don't know yet. I figured we could cross that bridge when we came to it, maybe? Unless, you would rather talk about it now."

"Well, I mean, as great as this has been, and even though we have such a great connection, I'm just not sure how well we would work with a long-distance relationship."

"I was kind of thinking the same thing, but it's just so hard to say goodbye after these past few months have been so fantastic."

"Well, this is not at all what I expected." Ross stated.

"I know, but I mean, this was just an opportunity that I couldn't pass up! They are giving me a rent free apartment, within walking distance of the office, and a free car and gas money and a cell phone, and all these other amazing things. And on top of that, they are giving me a promotion! I mean, it's just incredible!" Shelby gushed.

"It sounds unbelievable! And I'm really happy for you! I'm just going to miss you…and this…and us."

"I know, but you can come visit me anytime you want to." Shelby offered.

"I think it would just be easier if we were just friends after you left, and I'm not sure I'd be able to see you and be just friends."

"I had a feeling you were going to say that. Well, you can bring all your friends as well! We'll make a weekend out of it"

"Ok, I think we could do that."

"But, I have to get back to work now. I have a lot of stuff to get ready before the big move."

"All right. So, I'll see you later then?" Ross asked.

"Yeah, I want to see you as much as I can before I leave."

And with that Shelby got up, gave Ross a quick hug and a peck on the lips and scurried off to her office. Leaving Ross to sulk in his own thoughts and wander around, venturing into Central Park.

--

Rachel opened her eyes, which were blurred from the tears and sleeping.

"Where am I?" she thought.

As her vision cleared up, so did her memory. She recalled planning the cutest lunch surprise for Todd and having everything ruined went she caught him having an affair.

Rachel just layed on the bench wondering how she didn't see the signs. He always had 'meetings' at odd hours and never seemed to be able to make the lunch dates she planned because something had 'come up.'

She felt so stupid, and used.

"How could he have done this to me?" Rachel wondered, bewildered.

"I thought he was the one. He told me he loved me! He called me 'perfect' and 'everything he had ever wanted.' I will never believe another word he says." Rachel thought.

She sat up, realizing that her make-up must look horrific, and started looking around for her purse. She needed to talk to Todd about what she witnessed, and she had to look her best, so he knew what he was losing. When she didn't see her purse on the bench, her eyes looked to the grass around her bench for answers.

Rachel started to panic as she realized it must have been stolen. She grabbed her jacket from the bench and put it on as the wind started to pick up.

As she stuffed her hands inside the jacket she felt a small piece of paper in between her fingers that she did not recognize.

She took the paper out.

Her eyes grew wide as she read the paper.

After a minute or so of staring at the paper, it dropped from her hands and she started walking.

--

Ross was walking through Central Park when he spotted Rachel. She was standing next to a bench reading something, but he couldn't tell what.

"Rach!" He called.

But she didn't respond. She didn't even look up from the paper. It was as if she was in a trance.

"That's odd" he thought.

He slowed his pace as he watched her. Even from this distance he could tell that something was wrong, and he had every intention of finding out what it was.

That's when he saw her drop the paper and take off in the opposite direction.

"What is going on?!" He thought.

He started running towards the papers, and was extremely confused, yet quite concerned when he read its contents.

2873 Bleeker Street, Apartment 4F.

If you want your purse.

He looked up, just in time to see Rachel turn the corner.

He was definitely going to follow her.

--

Joey entered apartment 20 hoping to find Chandler, and possibly some left over lasagna. But all he found was an empty room and the sound of a vacuum coming from Monica's bedroom. So, he walked over to the room and opened the door.

"Hey!" he said.

Monica screamed and turned around like a bat-out-of-hell.

"Joey! What the hell are you doing?!" Monica asked as she turned off the vacuum.

"Wow, easy there killer, I was just looking for Chandler."

"Really," Monica asked not believing him, "just Chandler?"

"Well, and some food. But, seriously, have you seen Chandler"

"That's what I thought. There is left-over chicken parmesan in the fridge and vanilla pudding for dessert."

"Score!" Joey said as he turned around to head for the kitchen.

"Oh and to answer your question, no, I have not seen Chandler today."

But he had forgotten all about Chandler, as his one track mind currently had 'chicken parmesan' on repeat.

"Joey, can I ask you a question?" Monica asked as she followed him into the kitchen.

"Sure, but I can't guarantee I have an answer."

"Ok, well. Have you ever had a crush on any of us girls?"

"Sure! I've definitely thought about doing all the three of you!"

"No, I mean like, have you 'liked' any of us?"

"Like, 'like' like?" Joey asked, seeming to be a bit confused.

"Yeah, like thought about asking us out or wanting to date any of us?"

"Oh, then no." Joey answered.

"Oh, ok."

"Why? Who do you like? Is it me? Is it Chandler? Is it ROSS? Monica please tell me it's not Ross, because he's your brother. And that's, like, insect."

"I think you mean incest, there Joe." Chandler said.

"Woah! Do not do that to me!" Joey said as he turned around with eyes bulging out of his head.

"Sorry there Joe, need me to change your diaper?" Chandler laughed.

But Joey, being Joey, didn't seem to get the joke.

"So, Monica, who do you like?" Chandler asked.

Monica looked at Chandler. For once, she didn't know what to say.

--

Review please!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sorry it took so long! I've been like crazy busy with school...yes even in the summer -- But my life should be settling down now! So, that means more updates! Hopefully!

Disclaimer: They're not mine.

--

"N...no one" Monica stuttered.

"Oh." Chandler said, unconvinced.

'Oh no, he knows I'm lying.' Monica thought.

"No, No, I think she's lying. I think she likes one of us." Joey proudly said, as if he figured out a big mystery.

"Shut up, Joe. I was just curious because my friend, well, you see, my friend...from work...she, uh, she likes this guy. And he's her friend...and she's not sure if he likes her back. And she doesn't want to lose him as a friend." Monica explained.

"Hm, well that sounds like a tricky situation." Chandler said.

'Did he see through this?' Monica wondered.

"Yeah, it is. I mean I'm, I mean my friend, is really nervous about it. And she's not sure she should tell him." Monica continued.

"Well, have they been friends for a while?" Chandler asked.

'I think he has...' Monica thought.

"Yeah, well, they've known each other for forever." She said.

"Is the chance of being with him worth risking losing him as a friend?" Chandler asked.

Monica was now sure that Chandler had figured her out.

"Absolutely." Monica said without a doubt in her mind, her eyes fixated on Chandler who was staring right back into her eyes.

"I'm lost. I'm getting pizza. Anybody want some?" Joey said, as he re-entered the conversation.

But neither Monica nor Chandler answered.

"Ok then. I'll just get a large for myself then." Joey said.

Monica and Chandler stood in silence as Joey left the apartment. Neither of them wanted to speak for fear that they would ruin the moment. They just looked into each other eyes. Finally after a few minutes had passed, Chandler dared to speak.

"Monica?" He asked.

"Yeah?" She replied.

"What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

"Nothing. Nothing is going on." She lied.

"Really?"

"Yes. Really."

"So, you're not your friend. And I'm not your friends co-worker. And you don't like me?" Chandler asked.

This was it. Monica had to come to terms with the fact that he figured her out. But, she couldn't. She just couldn't lose him as a friend. She couldn't tell him.

"No. I don't like you, Chandler."

"Oh, I thought maybe you did. I thought…" He said, stopping himself, "actually, I don't know what I was thinking. I have to go though, I'll see you later."

And he left. He had been right there in front of her. She could have just told him and been rejected and gotten it over with. But something inside her wouldn't let her. She wanted to be with him.

--

The cool air hit Ross's face as he walked towards Bleeker Street. He had lost sight of Rachel as she weaved in and out of the busy New York City sidewalk traffic a few blocks back. But he was going to go to the apartment, he had to make sure his best friend was safe, even if he had no idea what was going on.

He looked up at the street sign that was in front of him. It read "Bleeker St." He turned left and started walking. Before he got very much farther down the block a familiar set of eyes was looking directly at him.

"Ross?" Rachel asked.

"Oh! Hey Rach! Fancy meeting you here!" Ross said, obviously uncomfortable and lying.

"Uh-huh." She said, not buying it, "What's that?" She pointed to the paper clutched in his hand.

"N…Nothing." He said crumpling up the paper and throwing it.

"Oh really, because it looks a little bit familiar." She said as she walked over to the ball of paper sitting in the street.

As she picked it and opened it Ross knew he had been caught. But it's not like he was doing anything wrong. He was just trying to help his friend.

"Were you following me?" Rachel asked, with her big blue puppy dog eyes looking up at him.

"Uh, uh…" Ross fumbled with his words.

"That's so sweet!" Rachel said as she wrapped her arms around him.

This was not at all how he thought she would re-act to practically being stalked.

"Thank you so much. It really means a lot that you care." She said with her head still buried in his chest.

"You're welcome, Rach." He said hugging her back.

"And I really appreciate it, but I think this is something I have to do on my own."

"Yeah, yeah, of course, I completely understand." Ross said.

"So, I'll see you at home?" Rachel asked sweetly.

"Of course." Ross said.

He gave her one last hug and then disappeared into the crowded sidewalk.

--

She looked at the number on the door and then the number on the crumpled up piece of paper in her hands. They matched.

Rachel was so nervous. She had no idea what to except. All she knew was that she needed her purse back. All her credit cards, her driver's license and her social security card were in her purse, not to mention her paycheck.

She double and triple checked the address to avoid having to actually enter apartment.

As her hand reached for the door handle she thought to herself, "Right about now I kind of wish I hadn't sent Ross home."

She turned the knob and swung the door open.

Her jaw dropped in astonishment.

"Oh my gosh." She whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

Yay for updating!! I was deff not expecting to be this busy this summer, which is why I couldn't update for the longest time EVER! But it's here now, yayy!

PS. They aren't mine.

--

Rachel could hardly believe her eyes. There in front of her was the most beautiful and romantic set up she had ever seen. The small studio apartment was filled with hundreds of small candles that glowed even brighter with the effect of dimmed lights. The floor and most of the furniture, including tables and countertops, were littered with deep red rose petals. A canopy of beautiful string lights and vines hung from the ceilings, which almost gave the look of stepping into a vineyard.

Rachel stood in the doorway in awe of the room for several moments. She was so enthralled by the décor that she hadn't noticed the figure sitting in the center of the room.

"Rachel" the man said softly, "I was so afraid you wouldn't come."

Rachel attention was jerked from the enchantment of the room to the lone figure sitting in the room. She immediately recognized the voice.

"Todd?" Rachel asked, in astonishment, "what is all this?" she continued.

"I've done a lot of thinking, and I can't even begin to explain to you how sorry I am. I was the biggest –"

"Wait," Rachel interrupted, "you did all of this for me?"

"Well…yeah." Todd answered rather sheepishly, "I can't stop thinking about you and how badly I must've hurt you."

Rachel didn't know how to respond to all of this. Todd was never one to be romantic and go out of his way to impress her or shower her with romantic surprises. This was a complete shock for her.

"W-wow. I can't believe this." Rachel said in shock.

"I realize what a fool I was and I will do anything to make it up to you, so well, here goes…" Todd said as he bent down on one knee.

Rachel knew what was coming and was definitely not prepared for a situation like this at all.

"Rachel Karen Green, will you marry me?" Todd asked as he pulled out a small black box and opened it to reveal a stunningly beautiful, and quite large, engagement ring.

Rachel was speechless. She stood there gaping at the ring and the gesture and the entire situation. She just stared at him with eyes wide open in astonishment.

"I, uh, what?" She finally said after several moments of silence.

Todd stood up and took a few steps toward her.

"I've realized that I don't think I can live without you, and I need you in my life. So, will you?"

"Todd…" Rachel started.

"I know, this is crazy, but I love you."

"Todd, listen. I'm not going to sit here and lie to you and say that I don't love you too, but what you did to me really hurt me. And, I'm not sure that I can trust you anymore. This was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me, but lets be serious for a second. I can't marry you, I mean; I haven't even forgiven you for what you did." Rachel explained.

Todd coughed up a little laugh, "Oh, yeah, I uh, I understand" he said, the hurt in his voice was very apparent, "God, I feel so stupid."

Rachel had never felt worse about rejecting someone in her entire life. She could see that he was sincere, but what she had said earlier was true – she hadn't, in fact, forgiven him.

"No, no, don't feel stupid. This was lovely, and everything was perfect, but I just can't marry you." Rachel consoled him.

"Do you think we give us another shot?" He tried again.

"Honestly, I really don't know. You really broke your trust with me, and I'm not sure I can trust someone who has cheated on me."

"Oh." He said, with his head down.

"Listen, I'm really sorry." Rachel said.

"No, don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. I was just trying to make things right with you." Todd said.

"Ok, well, I kind of have to be somewhere, so I have to go. But just know, that I loved every minute of our relationship, well except for this afternoon, and this was just the perfect way to end it." Rachel said.

"Yeah, I'm glad we ended on good terms" Todd replied.

"Me too." Rachel said, with a smile on her face.

She was about to turn and leave, when Todd spoke up again.

"Oh wait, I almost forgot…"

He turned around and went into the kitchen area where he picked something up and started walking back towards Rachel.

"Here, I'm sorry for taking it. It was the only way I knew you'd come for sure." He said as he handed Rachel her purse.

"Thank you." Rachel said, and gave him a hug. "Bye."

--

"Uh! Why had I been so stupid! Why couldn't I just tell Chandler that I liked him and been honest." Monica thought to herself as she sat on the couch eating popcorn and watching "The Birdcage".

Monica was terrified that she has just passed up her only opportunity to come clean to Chandler and maybe be with him. She had gotten the impression that he may have liked her back, and was so angry with herself that she didn't admit it.

Just then Chandler stormed into the apartment.

"Wha – What are you doing?" Monica asked, in shock.

"Why won't you just tell me the truth?!" He said, practically yelling.

"What are you talking about?" Monica said, still not ready to tell him the truth.

"Stop saying that! You know exactly what I'm talking about! You like me, Monica. You LIKE me. Will you please just admit it?!" Chandler ranted.

"No!" Monica said.

"WHY?" Chandler said.

"Because…because I'm scared." Monica said quietly.

"Scared of what?" Chandler asked, his voice back to a normal decibel.

"Of losing you as a friend. I don't know what I would do if anything happened and we couldn't be around each other." Monica clarified.

"Well, what if I said that I might like you too." Chandler said, "Does that make you feel better? Because it's the truth – I like you Monica."

Monica was speechless. Chandler had just said the four words that Monica had been waiting to here for a long time. She couldn't believe this was happening.

"Well, what do you have to say?" Chandler said.

"Yes." Monica said, "I like you. I've liked for a while."

"Me too." Chandler said.

"Then why were you always so mean to me?!" Monica retorted.

"Do you not know me at all? I'm horrible with women. I have no idea how to react around them, especially those who I like, like you" Chandler said, with a sincere shyness to his voice that made Monica's heart melt.

Monica had to laugh, this was true – Chandler was awful with women, and that was an understatement. Chandler wasn't graceful, or suave, or slick with women and always managed to say the one thing that would make them feel so awkward. But that is what Monica loved about him. He was quirky and awkward, but to her he was so perfect and funny and lovable.

"Chandler, I like you, and I think we could be together, but I'm still so terrified that we won't work. I just couldn't stand losing you as a friend." Monica said.

"Well, I won't let that happen." Chandler said.

"How do you know?" Monica asked, unconvinced.

"This is how…" He said as he walked over and kissed her.

He kissed her with such passion and feeling that Monica literally went weak in the knees. It was everything that Monica had imagined it would be, maybe even better. This was so surreal for Monica that she just soaked every second of it in and savored the taste of his lips on hers after they broke.

"Oh" Monica said weakly.

--

Reviews pleaseeeeeee

)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Chapter 6!

Disclaimer: I don't own them.

--

Rachel sighed as she entered Central Perk. She had expected at least one of her friends to be there, but the disappointed look on her face told a different story. She just wanted to sort out everything that had happened over the last few hours.

"Monica would know what to do," she thought as she walked over to her usual spot on the familiar orange couch.

As soon as she hit the soft cushions, Ross walked through the double doors behind her. By the reaction on his face, she could tell that he was relieved to see her.

"Rach!" He said as he came towards her.

She just smiled at him. If felt good to know that someone cared about her well being.

"Hey sweetie" Rachel said as she sat down next to her.

"So…what happened?" He asked.

"I can't even begin to explain it. It was so surreal. I'm still in a daze from the whole thing." She said vaguely, not meaning to tease him with her lack of details.

"Ok? Could you be a little more specific?! I see you have your purse, so you got it back, but what exactly happened?" He asked.

Rachel laughed a little bit at that comment, and then continued, "Well, the whole thing was set up by Todd, which I should have seen coming, but I was so confused I didn't even think about it."

"Todd? Oh my God, Rach, I'm so sorry, that must have been so hard."

"You know, I thought about this also, and it really wasn't that hard to see him. It was really easy, actually. But anyways, I get to this apartment and I was terrified to open the door, so I just kind of stood there for a few minutes, but I finally did, and, ugh, I can't even explain the room. It was just so beautiful. There were flowers and candles everywhere and the lights were dimmed. It just so magical" She said.

"Ok, so what happened?" Ross asked.

"Well, basically…Todd, uh, asked me to marry him."

Ross just stared at her. He was in just as much shock as Rachel was.

"Ross? You ok?" She said as she snapped her fingers to get his attention.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I just can't believe he did that. I didn't know him that long but that seems like a pretty un-Todd like thing to do."

"That's exactly what I thought!"

"Wait, wait! What did you say?" Ross said, suddenly concerned.

"No! Oh my gosh, I said No! He cheated on me! Of course I wasn't going to marry him"

And for some reason, which Ross couldn't explain, he felt relieved that she wasn't going to marry Todd. The last time he felt the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, that he was feeling now, was when he had that dream about Rachel a few nights ago. She was beautiful, there was no denying that fact, but was he falling for his best friend?

"Good for you, Rach. Do you think you'll still see him?" Ross asked.

"I don't know. I mean, I can't say that I don't still love him. But he just hurt me so badly, you know? I don't think I could ever trust someone again after they did that."

"I completely agree with you. And…and if he can't appreciate what a beautiful person you, then he doesn't deserve you." Ross said.

Rachel smiled at him. He knew exactly what to say to make her feel better.

"Thank you, Ross" She said quietly.

"Anytime, Rach. I'd do anything for you – you know that. But what are you up to tonite?"

"Well, since I'm a newly single woman, I have no idea what I'm going to do. Normally my nights revolved around Todd. You know how that is, with Shelby and all." She said.

Ross had completely forgotten about Shelby, which was strange because he had just seen her a few hours ago. His face saddened at the thought of her, and Rachel noticed.

"What's wrong?"

"Um, well, Shelby and I kind of broke up." He said

"Ross! Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! And here I was complaining about my life, when you had your own problems!" She said, giving him a big hug

"It's fine. I'm was platonic. She, uh, she got a promotion, and is being relocated to Phoenix. But it's fine, everything's fine, I'm fine." He said.

"Ok, Ross, when someone says 'fine' that many times in once sentence that usually means they are not fine. You really like her a lot, huh?" Rachel said.

"Yeah, I do. But there is really nothing I can do, you know?"

"Well, how bout we have a pity party for ourselves tonight! Me and my sisters used to do it all the time when we broke up with our boyfriends." Rachel said, with one of the first genuinely happy smiles Ross had seen on her face the whole afternoon.

"Wha – What! No! Rach, I'm not a fifteen year old girl anymore!" Ross said, then he realized what he had said, but it was too late, Rachel had caught it and was rolling on the couch with laughter.

"I – didn't – know you were – a girl – " Rachel said in between fits of laughter.

"Shut up, y-you know what I meant. I meant that you're not a fifteen-year-old girl anymore!" Ross said trying to be serious, but even he couldn't hide the fact that it was hilarious.

"I know, I know. I just help picturing you in fuzzy pink footy pajamas and pigtails." She teased.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny."

"Oh, I'm only kidding. No but seriously. We should rent a bunch of movies and eat ice cream and talk about stuff all night. It may sound stupid, but it's the best therapy there is. Well, besides shopping, but this is so much less expensive."

"Ok, fine. But can I choose the movies?" Ross bargained.

"So you'll do it! Oh, thank you Ross! This means so much to me!" She said, throwing her arms around her best friend once again.

"And while I'm out, I'll pick up some munchies too. Do you want anything in particular?"

"Nope, not really. But chocolate is always a safe bet!"

"I'll keep that in mind. So I'll meet you back at my apartment, in say 2 hours?"

"Sure, sound good."

--

"Wow, I can't believe we just did that." Monica said, as she looked over at the man laying next to her.

"I can. I can believe that we will be doing that," he said pointing to the bed, "everynight."

Monica wasn't lying when she said she couldn't believe that just happened. She had known Chandler for so long, and now all of a sudden they were…well, what were they doing? She wasn't really sure if they were dating or not, but at this moment in time, she didn't care as long as she was lying in his arms. But apparently, she wasn't the only one thinking that.

"So, I have a question." Chandler said.

"What?"

"What are we doing? I like you, and you like me, right? So are we dating?"

"I don't know. Do you want to date me?" Monica asked.

She knew sure as hell that she wanted to date him, but she wasn't sure if he felt the same way about her.

"Yes, I do, actually. I want you," He said rolling over onto his side to properly face her, "to be my girlfriend."

Just that sentence alone made Monica smile. She loved the sound of it, and she loved the feeling of being someone's girlfriend.

"Well, good, because I want to be your girlfriend." She said, with the biggest smile on her face.

"So it's settled then. We are officially boyfriend and girlfriend." He said, with the same goofy smile that Monica loved.

Monica loved the thought of having a boyfriend. And the face that her boyfriend was now Chandler made it even better.

"What are we going to tell the guys?" Chandler said

"I didn't even think about them. You don't think it'll be weird for them do you?" She said.

"Honestly, I really care what they think. Although it might be weird for Ross, because you are his little sister."

"Maybe we should hold off on telling them, for a while then." Monica said.

" I think that might be a good idea. I can just picture Ross threatening to kick my ass." Chandler laughed.

Monica laughed at the thought of Ross attempting to kick his ass.

"Don't worry, I'll defend you. I know all his weak spots." Monica joked.

Chandler laughed, "I _think_, I think I might be able to manage him by myself."

"It might be weird for me to keep this from Rachel though, she is my best friend after all, and I hate keeping secrets from her."

"Don't worry, we'll tell them when the time is right."

Monica trusted him, and knew that he was right. Just then her stomach growled with hunger pains.

"I think I'm going to make dinner, did you want any?" She said, sitting up.

"Anything you make would be fine."

So she got up, put her robe on and went out into the kitchen. Being the sentimental person she was, she couldn't help but think that this was their first meal as a couple.

She smiled at that thought.

--

Reviews please! Make a poor girl happy!


	7. Chapter 7

Rachel hopped out of the shower, which she took in record time

Rachel hopped out of the shower, which she took in record time. She was so excited about her 'girls night' with Ross. She had the fluttery butterflies in her stomach like you get when you go on a first date, which she thought was strange because her and Ross have hung out a lot just the two of them and she never felt like this before.

It was 8:30 at night, and she told Ross that she would meet him at his apartment at 9:30, so she had to hurry up and get ready. She took her giant make-up bag out from the cabinet underneath the bathroom sink, where she kept all her toiletries and make-up and bathroom stuff. As she dug in the bag for the perfect shade of eye shadow she heard Monica's bedroom door open and close.

"Monica?" she called out.

"Rach? Where have you been?!" Monica said as she made her way over to the bathroom.

"Oh my God, it's been the craziest day of my life." Rachel said, turning from the mirror to face her best friend.

"Me too! You can't even begin to imagine what happened to me!" Monica practically shouted at her friend.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure my day tops yours. I got cheated on, proposed to, and am about to have a 'girls night' with your brother!" Rachel said, with a cocked eyebrow and a hint of sass in her voice.

"Whoa, ok, your day was pretty – wait, you got cheated on?! No, no, who the hell proposed to you? And a 'girls night' with my brother?! What the hell happened to you, woman?!" Monica asked, with a hysterical look of confusion on her face.

"Ok, well, I went to visit Todd today at work, only to walk in on him banging his secretary." She said, with a tone of voice that made it seem as though she was mocking the situation.

"Aw, Rach, I'm so sorry, that must've – " Monica started, but Rachel cut her off.

"Oh no, it gets better. So with the amount of emotions I was feeling at the time, I ran to Central Park. Why? I don't know, but I did. And I sat down on a bench, and I guess I fall asleep, because I woke up with my purse missing and this note." She said, taking the crinkled note out of her pocket and showing Monica.

"Are you serious? So, what was on Bleeker street?" Monica asked.

"Todd." Rachel said, flatly.

"As in, Todd, ex-boyfriend Todd, as in cheated on you Todd?"

"Yes, him. And can I just say that it doesn't make it feel any better when you say his name repeatedly." Rachel said.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I forgot." Monica said as she rubbed her friends back.

"It's fine, it just hurts a bit, yah know? Ok, wait, so then I get up to the apartment and it's all decked out. There is flowers and candles everywhere, and it's like THE most romantic thing of my life. And Todd gives me his whole bullshit speech about how he's still in love with me and wants me back and to prove his love he thinks it'll make everything better if he proposes to me."

"What?" Monica interrupted, "He proposed to you? After he ch- " She stopped herself from saying cheated again, " I mean, everything he did to you?"

"I guess. But anyways, so I said no, obviously, got my purse back and went to Central Perk. And then Ross walks in and we end up talking for a long time. Oh, and apparently him and Shelby broke up." She gossiped.

"What? Why? I really like her." Monica asked, wanting to know every detail.

"She got transferred or something to like Arizona or someplace far. And they broke up. But can I tell you something and you promise not to tell anyone or freak out or anything?"

"Yeah, sweetie, I promise."

"Ok, so I was sitting talking to Ross and I kept getting this feelings in my stomach, like butterflies or something. And I think, I kinda, have a little crush on your brother…" Rachel confided, wincing a little bit as she waited for Monica to freak out.

But Monica just starred at her with her jaw hung open and her eyes glazed over as if she was in shock or something. She was speechless. There was a party going on inside Monica's head, but she couldn't find the strength to use her muscles and form words to tell Rachel how excited she actually was.

"Mon? Sweetie?" Rachel said, look at her friend and snapping a few times in her face.

"Wha- oh yeah. Rachel! I'm so excited! My best friend and my brother! This is amazing! And while we're talking about relationships and stuff, I kind of have something to tell you too."

"Well, your wearing you robe and you have bed head and it's 9 o'clock at night. So I know what you've been doing all day" Rachel said, winking at her friend.

"Yeah, well, I've been doin' it with Chandler!" Monica squealed.

"What! Monica! I'm so happy for you!" Rachel said, throwing her arms around her best friend.

"I know! Me too! And we talked about it, and we're officially dating now!" Monica said, with the excitement of a fat kid in a bakery.

"Oh my God…What's Ross gonna say about this?" Rachel said, as she remembered that she has to be at his house in a half –hour.

"We're not telling anyone yet. I wasn't even supposed to tell you, but then you told me about you and Ross and I couldn't not tell you about me and Chandler!" Monica said, faster then anything she'd ever said before.

"What the hell did you just say?" Rachel said, not understanding a single word of what just came from her roommates' mouth.

"We're not telling anyone about us yet. Especially Ross. He's gonna take it the hardest and we don't want this being weird for anyone." Monica said, much more calmly and clearly then before.

"Well, maybe I could pre-occupy him for you?" Rachel said, full well knowing that Monica did not want to hear about her brothers sex life.

"Ew, gross. Please, never again mention that Ross has or will have sex." Monica said, with a look of disgust on her face.

"Oh my gosh! I have to go! I'm supposed to be at Ross's in like 20 minutes!" Rachel said, frantically.

She threw on some eyeliner, grabbed her mascara and clumped it on and ran out the door over to Ross's. Leaving Monica to have some more alone time with her new boyfriend.

--


End file.
